Due to President Trump’s refusal to attend a virtually-formatted second presidential debate, former Vice President Joe Biden held a townhall in its place on ABC this past Thursday night. The townhall was hosted by George Stephanopoulos and was held in Philadelphia’s Constitution Center.  

This event was different from the two previous debates. The only interruptions came from ad breaks and small readings of the Constitution in the transition periods. Viewers were able to watch 90 minutes of calm, respectful and organized politics.

Biden was asked questions by different voters, including some who supported him, some who did not and some who were undecided. Biden then responded to their questions and often expanded into other topics in his response. Before moving on, he often ended by thanking them and saying, “I hoped I answered your question.”

The debate allowed Biden to provide the American people with more facts about his policies. He even took a piece of paper out of his pocket at one point to make sure he clearly referenced some statistics. 

When asked by a voter about the Trump tax cuts and a post-coronavirus economy, Biden responded with factual evidence as to why he was the best man for the job. He referenced Moody’s Analytics report, which analyzed both his and Trump’s proposed economic policies.

“Moody’s, Wall Street, said I will create 18.6 million new jobs, good paying jobs, No.1. No.2, the G.D.P. will grow by a trillion dollars more than it would under Trump,” Biden said.

After the first break, Cedric Humphrey, a Pennsylvania student, asked Biden how he was planning to earn the vote of young Black Americans who see voting for Biden as “further participation in a system that continually fails to protect them.”

In his respons, Biden touched on many topics, such as criminal justice, accumulating wealth, education, drug abuse and redlining. 

When asked about his 1994 Crime Bill, under which many people were charged and imprisoned for minor drug offenses, Biden acknowledged that it was a mistake. 

“It had a lot of other things in it that turned out to be both bad and good,” Biden said, pointing to the Violence Against Women Act measure he helped write that provided more resources to combat domestic violence.

He also expressed his hope to change America’s system of dealing with drug misuse from one of punishment to one of rehabilitation and demonstrated his support for drug courts and the decriminalization of marijuana.

“I don’t think anyone should be going to jail for drug use,” Biden said. “They should be going into mandatory rehabilitation. We should be building rehab centers to have these people housed.”

Biden was also asked about other key issues throughout the debate, such as foreign policy, environmental issues and LGBTQ+ rights. When discussing Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, Biden continued to avoid taking a stance on court packing. He stated that he still did not support it, but he would come out with a clearer position before Election Day.

Biden continued to talk to and answer the questions of the attendees after the event concluded.